Europe and North America brace for flu surge

EUROPE and North America are braced for a surge in flu cases as schools resume after the holidays.

Schoolchildren are the main carriers of seasonal flu, and epidemics often reflect school schedules. The winter flu that is already pushing intensive care services to capacity in the UK has been dominated by the same swine flu virus that caused a pandemic in 2009.

While swine flu has now become a seasonal virus, and more people have immunity to it than in 2009, it still carries a sting in its tail. At least 36 people have already died of the virus in the UK this flu season and, as in pandemics but unlike most seasonal flu, nearly all were under 65, while 40 per cent had none of the risk factors that make flu deadlier, such as asthma.

Health agencies in Europe and North America are advising people in risk groups, such as pregnant women, to get vaccinated.

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